The third piece listed in the full armor of God is the breastplate, which was the piece of armor that protected a soldier’s vital organs. And when Paul pairs the word breastplate with the word righteousness, he’s drawing on the Hebrew understanding that righteousness is relational. In other words, relationships are at the very core of who we are, and the enemy’s number one purpose is to wreck relationships. By the end of this episode, you’ll appreciate just how important it is to be vigilant about pursuing and preserving right relationships so the enemy doesn’t take out your heart!

• What was your biggest takeaway from the teaching?
• What does it look like when you’re vigilant about protecting your relationship with God? With others? With yourself? With creation?
• Describe a time or experience in your life when you had to take action to preserve a relationship that was at risk?
• What do you think about the statement “The enemy’s #1 purpose is to wreck relationships?” In what ways have you experienced that to be true?
• How will you begin living out the truths of this teaching this week?

• Teaching Series Episode 111 – The Dignity of Difference